Skirt and waist retainer.



Nm 817,417. Q PATENTED APR 10, 1906. M. E. GLARKE.

SKIRT AND WAIST RETAINER" APPLICATION FILED NOV. 2, 1905.

WITNESSES: IJV'VENTOB AXZVATTORJVEY.

'onrrnn STATES PATENT orrron.

MARY E. CLARKEOF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO SARAH F. CLARKE, OF SYRACUSE, NEW YORK.

SKIRT AND WAIST RETAINER.

- Specification of Letters Patent.

"Patented April 10, 1906.

Application filed November 3, 1905. Serial No.'285,667.

To all whom it'may concern.-

Be it known that I, MARY E. CLARKE, of Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in the State of New York,have invented new and useful Improvements in Skirt and Waist Retainers, of which the following, taken in connectionwith the accom anying drawings, is a full, clear, and exact escription.

This invention relates togarment attach-,

mentswhich are designed for ladies waists and skirts for the purpose of retaining the top band of the skirt in proper position around the waist and preventing the waist from drawing away from said band.

The present invention has special refer ence to the class of skirt and waist retainers which embody ametallic plate fastened to the back of the waist or band thereof and hooks secured to the skirt-band and adapted to engage saidplate. lit has been found'by experience that retainers of this style are usually objectionable when applied to waists which are made of very fine qualities of material, particularly silks of delicate shades of color which are washable, for the reason that the metal plates tend to rust or discolor, and thus soil the garment.

One of the objects of this invention is to produce a skirt and waist retainer of the above character which shall permit the metal plate to be easily and conveniently removed from the waist when it is desired to wash the latter, and thereby overcome the aforesaid objection.

Another object of the invention is to produce a device which shall be simple, strong, and durable in its construction, efficient and reliable for the purpose stated, and which will not discomfort the person using the same and at the same time shall be very inexpensive.

To that end the invention consists in the novel arrangement of the component parts of the combined skirt and waist retainer hereinafter fully described, and set forth in the claims.

In the accompanying drawings, Figures 1 and 2 are fragmentary perspective views of a ladys waist and skirt, respectively, and illustrating the retainer embodyingmy invention. Fig. 3 shows an enlarged longitudinal I Fig. 4. isa vertical section attached waist and skirt. Fig. 5 is a further section of a portion of the waistband having the skirt band attached by said retainer.

of portions of the enlarged outer face viewof the strip which is designed to be stitched to the waist .or waistband and provided with a removable metallic plate adapted to be engaged by the hooks of the skirt, and Fig. 6 is a detachedface view of said plate. a 1

Referring to said drawings, A denotes the waist, which may be of any wellknown style and composedof any kind of material, and it is provided with a permanent band aaround its lower portion. Thisiband a.is.not.absolutely essential in the use of my retainer, al though it is very desirable in case the-waist is made from very light or thin material, such as silk, for the reason that it serves to reinforce the garment in the attachment of .said retainer, whereby the garment is prevented from being torn or otherwise injured-incident to the strain thereon caused by the pull exerted by the attached, skirt B, hereinafter re ferred to. v

The retaining device comprises a short non-metallic strip C, preferably composedof strong pliable fabric and provided at itsrend with vertical exterior pockets 0 c, which are open toward each other, said strip being permanently fastened horizontally to the back of the waist or to the band a thereof bylines of stitching extending throughout its longitudinal marginal portions, as shown in Fig. 1. The said pockets 0 c are preferably formed by folding the end portions of the strip transversely and stitching the folds at the longitudinal margins, as indicated at d d and more clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 5. Intermediate the said pockets the strip is provided with a guard e, consisting of a transverse strap which is stitched across its ends to the marfrom the pockets and also serves to relieve the pockets from strain incident to the pull exerted on the plate by attached to the permanently secured to the inner face of the usual top band of the skirt, which hooks are adapted to engage the top edge of the said plate by means of hooks f f, l

What I claim as my invention is- 1. A combined skirt and waist retainer the skirt B, which is l comprising a pliable strip permanently secured across the exterior of the back ofthe waist by lines of stitching extending througha out its longitudinal margins and provided at its ends with vertical exterior pockets, a flexiplate, as more clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. J ble elongated metallic plate having its ends These hooks may be of any suitable form. However, I prefer to employ the well-known style of hooks shown in Fig. 2 and which are commonly used in garment-fastenings. I prefer to employ two of such hooks and secure them to the top skirt-band in proper position to engage the aforesaid plate D at points intermediate the guard and pockets, although additional hooks may be used, if found necessary, as in instances where a very heavy skirt is required to be supported. It is obvious that the said strip C efiectually protects the waist from wear and injury which the hooks might produce. It will be understood that the described hooks are to be attached to the skirt-band in such position as to cause the said band to completely conceal the supporting-strip C.

It will be noted that in case it is desired to wash the waist provided with my retainer the metal plate D can be readily removed from the strip .0 by sim ly bending the plate to withdraw the ends om the pockets 0 c, thusobviating all danger of soiling or tearing the waist or strip C during the operation of washing. This convenient removal of the metal plate-D from the strip and its convenient replacing is very desirable when the de vice is applied to very thin and delicate materials, and thus constitutes one of the most important features of my invention.

inserted removably in said pockets, a guard consisting of a strap fastened at its ends to the strip and passing across the outer face of the plate and serving to relieve the pockets from strain and to prevent accidental withdrawal of the plate therefrom, and hooks secured to the skirt and detachably engaging the top edge of the plate asset forth.

2. A combined skirt and waist retainer comprising a,pliable strip permanently secured across the exterior of the back of the waist by lines of stitching extending throughout its longitudinal margins and having its end portions folded transversely, said folds being stitched along the margins of the strip to form vertical exterior pockets open toward each other, an elongated flexible metallic plate extending substantially the entire length of the strip and having its ends inserted removably in said pockets, a guard disposed intermediate the pockets and consist ing of a transverse strap secured at its ends to said margins and passing across the outer face of the plate for the purpose described, and hooks secured to the skirt and engaging the top edge of the plate at points intermediate the guard and pockets as set forth.

MARY E. CLARKE. IVitnesses':

J. J. LAASS, L. H. FULMER. 

